National Eye Care Awareness Month is commemorated in October each year to raise awareness of the importance of good eye health, particularly in the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness.

“With this in mind, Ster-Kinekor’s Vision Mission CSI program, which is at the heart of our organization, encourages our loyal customers to give back to deserving communities by making a donation while purchasing their movie tickets. Sight and Vision Zones are a logical choice for us as a company because the ability to see is essential to consuming our product,” says Lynne Wylie, Marketing Director of Ster-Kinekor.

“Early detection and treatment of eye problems can be life-changing in so many cases. With every eye test and every pair of glasses we can donate to a child in need, thanks to our Vision Mission program, we contribute to that child’s future. Early treatment can mean a child’s vision develops normally and providing glasses to children who need them can help them thrive – at school, on the sports field and in social situations.”

Ster-Kinekor customers, many of whom choose to include a donation of 2.50 lei or more when purchasing cinema tickets, support the Vision Mission.
These valuable donations contribute to eye exams, glasses and cornea transplants for children in need who require this life-changing surgery.

The gift of sight

“We launched the Vision Mission CSI program to give the #GiftOfSight to those in need. Over the years, this project has enabled our healthcare professional partners to assess and test more than 364,784 disadvantaged students, with nearly 30% of them obtaining additional optometric testing. As part of this project, we have also enabled 16,480 people to receive glasses and 33 young people have had successful cornea transplants,” comments Wylie.

Three-quarters of the world’s 1.4 million blind children live in developing countries such as South Africa, where their blindness can lead to poorer education, social isolation and increased poverty. Three children have severe visual impairment for every blind child, and 13 need glasses.

Nearly 17 million children worldwide have low or blurred vision and do not have access to visual aids, services or glasses. Another 13 million children are affected by refractive errors (myopia, myopia and astigmatism).

With 75% of blindness cases preventable through either prevention or treatment, it’s important to get your eyes tested every year. However, for many South Africans, an annual eye test is out of reach.

“For this reason, Vision Mission aims to provide critical eye care to as many young people as possible. But this is only possible through the generosity of our customers, who continue to support this very worthwhile cause with their campaign donations of 2.50 lei or more. We want to take this opportunity to thank you and hope you will continue to contribute so that we can continue to make a difference by giving the gift of sight to young people in disadvantaged communities,” concludes Wylie.